Can Wearable Robotics Help People With Parkinson’s Keep Moving?

Can wearable robotics help people with Parkinson’s stay active and independent longer?

Kathryn Zealand, founder and CEO of Skip, and Jessica Bath, DPT, PhD, assistant professor of physical therapy at UCSF, join Brian Heater for a special episode of Automated about wearable robotics, Parkinson’s disease, freezing of gait, and the future of human mobility.

Kathryn takes us inside Skip, the Google X spinout behind MO/GO, and explains how the team is building foundation models of human movement using real-world gait data.

She breaks down why Skip chose hiking instead of warehouse applications, how its “e-bike for walking” approach aims to move mobility technology away from stigma, and why predicting what someone is about to do requires much more than traditional exoskeleton controls.

The conversation then turns to Skip’s separate research around Parkinson’s disease.

Jessica explains why freezing of gait remains so difficult to understand and treat, how researchers are pairing brain recordings with biomechanics, and where deep brain stimulation, physical therapy, exercise, wearables, and robotic assistance may fit into the future of Parkinson’s care.

For Brian, the conversation is also deeply personal following his father’s diagnosis with Parkinson’s and recent passing.

Kathryn also shares the story behind Project Stardust, which grew from the devastating loss of her son, Ziggy, and her determination to explore how wearable technology could improve pregnancy monitoring.

MO/GO is currently a consumer recreation device and is not FDA-cleared. The Parkinson’s work discussed in this episode is a separate clinical research track.

Support Parkinson’s research through The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research:
https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate

KEY MOMENTS:
00:00 Predictive text for walking
01:14 Brian introduces Kathryn Zealand and Jessica Bath
02:52 From black holes to robotics
05:43 Choosing problems you can actually help solve
10:52 Inside Google X’s moonshot evaluation process
18:20 The personal story that led Kathryn to mobility
22:30 Parkinson’s disease and freezing of gait
23:24 The three mobility challenges Skip is studying
26:35 Predicting human movement with foundation models
31:01 Why Skip chose hiking instead of warehouses
36:07 Why traditional exoskeleton controls struggle in the real world
38:45 Building foundation models of human movement
40:01 Creating a real-world robotics data flywheel
44:04 Parkinson’s clinical research and The Michael J. Fox Foundation
47:33 The personal story behind Project Stardust
53:23 Building wearable technology for pregnancy monitoring
56:56 Why solving a real problem comes before the business model
59:12 Jessica Bath joins the conversation
1:03:38 How exoskeletons could support Parkinson’s mobility
1:06:37 What we still do not understand about freezing of gait
1:08:24 Deep brain stimulation and brain recordings
1:10:11 Why exercise matters for people with Parkinson’s
1:13:06 What makes a health technology actually work for patients
1:15:41 Wearables, movement data, and patient adoption
1:18:48 What is most promising in Parkinson’s research
1:20:47 Movement, independence, and quality of life

Connect with Kathryn Zealand:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-zealand/

Learn more about Skip and MO/GO:
https://www.skipwithjoy.com/

Learn more about Project Stardust:
https://project-stardust.org/

Connect with Jessica Bath:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-bath-pt-dpt-phd-a2331499/

Jessica Bath at UCSF:
https://profiles.ucsf.edu/jessica.bath

Support Parkinson’s research through The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research:
https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate

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You can find the transcript and more episodes of Automated at automated.fm.

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